Mixing / Production

With the tape always running in their Cologne studio, Can built up a huge archive of unreleased material. Much of it was brilliant, but all of it was chaotic...

Commercial Productions Analysed: Rebecca Ferguson • David Guetta • Professor Green

Creating music and sound effects for sophisticated video games such as Mass Effect 3 requires skills not found in film or television — and a lot of hard work.

• Sak Noel 'Loca People' • Labrinth 'Earthquake' • Drake 'Make Me Proud' • Florence & The Machine 'Shake It Out'

Benny Blanco has created a string of number one hits without expensive instruments or virtuoso keyboard skills. What exactly is his secret?

The long-awaited collaboration between singer Kenny Anderson and producer Jon Hopkins has yielded a hypnotic album where not everything is as it seems...

A leading tour musical director explains how his experience as a producer helps him to prepare hit records for live performance.

Half a century into his career, Paul McCartney has paid tribute to the songs that shaped his musical education with his first-ever album of standards.

• Pixie Lott 'All About Tonight' • Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds 'Death Of You And Me' • Laura Marling 'Sophia'

Tommy Forrest is discovering mainstream success — without compromising the hardcore sample-mangling that has made Akira Kiteshi an underground hit.

The Civil Wars chose to avoid the usual studio trickery for their debut album, and have reaped great success as a result.

• Lana Del Rey 'Videogames' • Tinchy Stryder 'Off The Record' • Emeli Sandé 'Heaven' • One Direction 'What Makes You Beautiful'

A combination of hard work, business acumen and old-fashioned musicality have brought JR Rotem huge success as a hip-hop and R&B songwriter and producer.

The meteoric rise of Michael Kiwanuka has been founded on strong songs, great singing and Paul Butler’s unique production style.

With the festival season fast approaching, The Prodigy's live sound-man, Jon Burton, talks to some of those involved about the unique demands of running open-air shows.

• Lady Antebellum 'We Owned The Night' • Cher Lloyd 'With Ur Love' • Snow Patrol 'Called Out In The Dark'

With a stellar client list that now ranges from Sir Paul McCartney to AC/DC, Paul Boothroyd has risen to the top of the live sound industry.

Why would a rock band play live at talking volume, and in a separate room? To give their audience the unique immersive effect that only binaural sound can provide...

• Maroon 5 'Moves Like Jagger' • James Morrison 'I Won't Let You Go' • Coldplay 'Paradise'

The mastering engineer's role is changing as artists explore new formats. And as Björk and Mandy Parnell discovered, what works for the iPad might not work on CD...

Ed Sheeran’s phenomenal success depended on hard work, a few lucky breaks, and the talents of long‑term co‑writer and producer Jake Gosling.